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William
Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2013 9:37 pm
by William
Hi All,
Having just joined UK Butterflies, I thought I'd start a personal diary to share some of my Butterfly sightings and photos. With 2013's season fast drawing to a close, I decided that I, like others would start a retrospective diary, looking back over the highlights of what has been a truly exciting year for me...
Re: William
Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2013 9:49 pm
by David M
Welcome, William.
Feel free to post whatever you wish. You can be assured of an interested audience.
Re: William
Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2013 10:19 pm
by Nick Broomer
Welcome to the forum William. Looking forward to your future posts.
All the best Nick.
Re: William
Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2013 11:41 pm
by Wurzel
Welcome William - looking forward to reading your reports and eying your photos
Have a goodun
Wurzel
Re: William
Posted: Fri Nov 01, 2013 7:24 am
by Pete Eeles
And a welcome from me too - look forward to seeing your photos!
Cheers,
- Pete
Re: William
Posted: Fri Nov 01, 2013 9:20 am
by Pauline
A big welcome from me too William.
Re: William
Posted: Fri Nov 01, 2013 2:11 pm
by William
April
Thanks for all the kind words guys, with them in mind, I shall begin...
For me and many others, April was a frustrating Butterflying month, and I found it bereft of the ususal first Orange Tips and Holly Blues that make it so exciting. Despite this, I had clocked up Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Brimstone, Small White and Large White by the end of the month by which point the cold spell had released its grip, and the exciting possibility of a warm spell in May began to take shape...
![UKB 22.JPG (2.14 MiB) Viewed 6149 times Peacock with a Passenger](./files/thumb_13033_f445c3d598a9e122f4fc9909e12c358a)
- Peacock with a Passenger
The other highlight of the month was the hatching of a Brown Hairstreak Egg I had found, sadly I lost track of the charming little larva after a week. Brown Hairstreaks aren't common in Somerset, ranging long distances over hedgerows, and being very difficult to track down. Last year I managed to find 3 males, all feeding in an Ash near my home, and in 2011 we actually had an egg on our Blackthorn hedge, but more of that later..
![UKB.JPG (848.1 KiB) Viewed 6149 times Brown Hairstreak Ovum](./files/thumb_13033_be37f88ef6581cf97640aca887aead91)
- Brown Hairstreak Ovum
![UKB 2.JPG (534.12 KiB) Viewed 6149 times Hatching....](./files/thumb_13033_e2d867c37d919cd3b6e89e87083d9cac)
- Hatching....
![UKB 3.JPG (761.29 KiB) Viewed 6149 times The Larva](./files/thumb_13033_b1b4bda30b3b6e731e597acd72df5f00)
- The Larva
Re: William
Posted: Fri Nov 01, 2013 2:40 pm
by Vince Massimo
That's a good start William
The Brown Hairstreak images are excellent and would be a welcome addition to the Species-Specific Album. They would be used in the
Identification http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/species. ... es=betulae and
Species pages
http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/species_ ... &stage=all of this website and would remain your copyright.
If you are agreeable you can add them here
gallery/album.php?album_id=160. Just scroll down to the species and then select the category within the species (ie ovum or larva). It would be helpful if you could add site and date information in the "imagename" box.
Looking forward to seeing the rest of your images for the year.
Regards,
Vince
Re: William
Posted: Fri Nov 01, 2013 5:05 pm
by Nick Broomer
Thats a brilliant start to your diary William. The photos of the Brown Hairstreak ovum and larva are just excellent.
All the best, Nick.
Re: William
Posted: Fri Nov 01, 2013 5:07 pm
by David M
I've a feeling this is going to be a particularly good personal diary!
Re: William
Posted: Fri Nov 01, 2013 5:48 pm
by Chris Jackson
Hi William,
Welcome to UK BFs. My name is Chris, I'm a recent overseas member and I monitor what's going on in the Marseilles region.
Nice photos so far.
Bienvenue !!
CJ
Re: William
Posted: Fri Nov 01, 2013 11:13 pm
by Paul Harfield
Hi William
Welcome
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
It is always good to see a new diary. That is a superb opener, I look forward seeing more
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
Re: William
Posted: Sat Nov 02, 2013 8:49 am
by Susie
Welcome William.
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
Brown hairstreak is my favourite butterfly and those are lovely photos.
Re: William
Posted: Sat Nov 02, 2013 6:49 pm
by Neil Freeman
Hi William,
Great start to your diary, looking forward to seeing some more
Cheers,
Neil F.
Re: William
Posted: Sat Nov 02, 2013 7:46 pm
by William
May (Part 1)
Thank you for the comments everyone - much appreaciated
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
!
May was the month that things finally got going, and it started well when I found a pristine Green - Veined White roosting in the garden, my first of the year. Following this, I made a mental note to search for larvae and ova later in the season. The immature stages of Orange Tips have always been something that I look out for, but despite them using many of the same foodplants, Green - Veined Whites have slipped under the radar somewhat.
![UKB 48.JPG (1.14 MiB) Viewed 6027 times Green - Veined White](./files/thumb_13033_8cf1dfd8745691ecac027c0a665523de)
- Green - Veined White
This was followed swiftly by my first Orange tips (at last!), two beautiful males patrolling on a bridleway near my home. They're always a joy to watch, flying up and down at great speed when the sun is out, and roosting when it's not - very accommodating!
![UKB 61.JPG (777.93 KiB) Viewed 6027 times Orange Tip - warming up!](./files/thumb_13033_2067c36c01d7af077e8008c5c4f66f36)
- Orange Tip - warming up!
Over the rest of the month, Orange Tips turned up frequently in the garden, roosting, like the Green Veined Whites, on Bluebells. I'm not sure why they do this, as it makes them stick out far more than they might on an unobtrusive grass stem.
![UKB 72.JPG (1.48 MiB) Viewed 6027 times Orange Tip (Male)](./files/thumb_13033_8ccd5f95879f4796f62017e2ca6a483f)
- Orange Tip (Male)
It was a real joy to start finding their eggs on the Garlic Mustard which I lovingly grew for them - all the hard work paid off!
![UKB 147.JPG (682.29 KiB) Viewed 6027 times A mature Orange Tip egg](./files/thumb_13033_6df655ef7ed334e509e4bdf88fc6b19a)
- A mature Orange Tip egg
I was delighted to have some larvae to watch over - providing ample entertainment, as Orange Tips seemed to have a rather short flight season in my neck of the woods, over by early June, nevertheless, it was, as always a joy to watch them...
![UKB 144.JPG (1.42 MiB) Viewed 6027 times Orange Tip (Male)](./files/thumb_13033_06506c2900db8b09d67fe4629b336b50)
- Orange Tip (Male)
I thought I'd do one instalment per week in my diary, which will tide me over until early February, when hopefully things will pick up again.
Once again, thanks for the kind comments
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
Re: William
Posted: Sat Nov 02, 2013 9:45 pm
by Butterflysaurus rex
An amazing start to your diary William, your photos are so good I can't pick a favourite. I'm really looking froward to seeing the next instalment, no doubt you have many more stunning images to share with us.
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
It'll be a real treat over the winter months.
Best wishes,
B'saurus
Re: William
Posted: Sun Nov 03, 2013 8:20 am
by William
Thank you very much B' Saurus, at the end of the day, it's a pleasure to just be out taking them. I'm very lucky too, as I do most of my photography walking from home, so it's all on my doorstep!
BWs
William
Re: William
Posted: Mon Nov 04, 2013 10:13 pm
by Wurzel
Lovely shots William especially the Green Veined White cracking
Have a goodun
Wurzel
Re: William
Posted: Tue Nov 05, 2013 5:51 pm
by Maximus
Lovely start to your diary William, looking forward to the next instalment
Mike
Re: William
Posted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 7:38 am
by William
Thanks Guys - I really appreaciate the kind comments
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
.